Systems are known in the prior art in which a plug carries a large number of electrical contacts which are accessible from its front side to complete a plug-in connection, and which is provided at its rear side with corresponding multiple contacts each adapted to be secured to a wire or lead. It is also known to provide a closure cap through which the wires extend, and which is adapted to be secured to the rear side of the plug. Also often provided is a so-called wire shield, which is secured to the plug behind the cap, and serves to hold the wires in an appropriate wire dress and also relieves stress on the connections to the plug contacts if the wires are pulled or otherwise stressed. For convenience, these wire shields have been made so that they are latchable to the casing of the connector plug.
In some significant cases, the space available on the casing for the plug for securing the wire shield and/or the cap to it is minimal. This is particularly true of modular plugs which are designed to be plugged side-by-side into a common header, whereby the sides of the plug casings are not readily available to accommodate latching structures for securing the wire shield and the caps. In addition, the bottom of the plug casing often includes other integral structures, such as latches used for other purposes. It has therefore become desirable in some applications to provide structures for latching a wire shield, and preferably also a rear cover cap, to a multi-contact plug, which structures occupy only a small portion of the plug casing. It is also desirable that the latching arrangement be capable of securing the wire shield without the cap, when a cap is not used.